What is Lapu-Lapu Day?
- Lapu-Lapu Day commemorates the Battle of Mactan, fought on April 27, 1521, where Datu Lapulapu, the chieftain of Mactan Island, defeated the Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan.
- Ferdinand Magellan, the renowned Portuguese explorer, was killed in this battle.
- Lapulapu is celebrated as the first Filipino hero who resisted foreign colonialism.
Significance of Lapu-Lapu Day in British Columbia, Canada
- British Columbia officially declared April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023.
- The declaration recognises both the heroic legacy of Datu Lapulapu and the contribution of the Filipino community to the cultural fabric of the province.
- It symbolises the values of cultural harmony, respect for indigenous resistance, and multicultural recognition.
Who was Lapulapu?
- Lapulapu was the chieftain of Mactan Island, located in the present-day Philippines.
- His name was recorded as Çilapulapu by Antonio Pigafetta, the Venetian scholar and assistant of Magellan. The prefix 'Si' is believed to be an honorific, derived from Sanskrit 'Sri'.
- In 2021, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte standardised the spelling as Lapulapu (without a hyphen).
